I Was Cool When . . .

It’s good to have our issues in the forefront, but it seems like everybody is trans these days. There was a time in my little part of the world when I could’ve been arrested for cross-dressing. Yes it was illegal. The law was hidden in wording like wearing a disguise in public. Still, I was afraid.

During that time, as I’ve mentioned before, like many others, I felt like a freak of some kind. GRS was possible, but we called it sex change, and it was so expensive. My only option as I saw it, was to live with the gender I was born with.

Now, gender dysphoria looks so prevalent, it almost seems popular. The numbers of young trans on Facebook staggers my imagination, and leads me to believe the condition has been more of an issue through history than anyone imagined.

Still, I can’t help feeling like the old house cat who gets to meet the new kitten. Curious, but resentful. Don’t get me wrong, I empathize with, love, and welcome every person who suffers from GD. Also, I realize I’m the new kitten to many pioneers who went before me.  

There was a song in the eighties, sung by Barbara Mandrell that, sort of, illustrates the point. I was going to turn the lyrics around but I couldn’t think of any two-syllable words that refer to trans. Click the link to hear the song. Use your imagination to substitute relevant words. Here are the original lyrics:

I remember wearin' straight leg Levis an' flannel shirts
Even when they weren't in style
I remember singin' with Roy Rogers at the movies
When the West was really wild

An' I was listenin' to the opry
When all of my friends were diggin' rock 'n' roll
An' rhythm 'n' blues
I was country, when country wasn't cool

I remember circlin' the drive-in, pullin' up
An' turnin' down George Jones
I remember when no one was lookin'
I was puttin' peanuts in my Coke

I took a lot of kiddin'
'Cause I never did fit in
Now look at everybody tryin' to be what I was then
I was country, when country wasn't cool

I was country, when country wasn't cool
I was country, from my hat down to my boots
I still act an' look the same
What you see ain't nothin' new
I was country, when country wasn't cool

They call us country bumpkins
For stickin' to our roots
I'm just glad we're in a country
Where we're all free to choose
I was country, when country wasn't cool

Yeah, I was country, country wasn't cool
Yeah an' I was country from my hat down to my boots

I still act an' look the same
What you see ain't nothin' new
'Cause I was country, when country wasn't cool
Yeah, I was country when country wasn't cool

Yeah, I was transgender, when it wasn’t cool.